Although Shen Qian had never met this person, he had heard the name.

Including Wang Shuo, Yanshan Gong had a total of eight disciples.

So far, Shen Qian has only met his eldest disciple, Tantai Qin, and his fifth disciple, Nie Han.

But he had a basic understanding of the others.

As disciples of top-tier nobles, aside from Wang Shuo, none of the rest are simple.

The Ji You before him gave him an extremely dangerous feeling, even from the subtle sense of his aura alone.

He... is stronger than Nie Han.

But in this highly anticipated arena, he was not intimidated by Shen Qian.

"What do you want?" Shen Qian asked casually, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

He's asking a classic case of feigning ignorance.

Since Ji You appeared here, it was naturally to save Wang Shuo's life. However, Wang Shuo himself said "life or death is irrelevant" first. Now that Ji You has appeared, it seems like he can't afford to play games.

Inside the main stadium, many people also wore strange expressions.

"Young people who are too sharp and outspoken are prone to dying young."

Sensing the whispers around him, Ji You's murderous intent intensified.

What can you do to me?

Shen Qian smiled.

A violent aura briefly appeared on Ji You's body, but he quickly suppressed it by taking a deep breath. He then gave Chen Qian a deep look.

"You are very good."

Without saying another word, Ji You turned and rushed to Wang Shuo's side, intending to take Wang Shuo away.

You can't protect him.

She spoke again before sinking in, as if delivering a conclusion, her calm tone carrying an air of unquestionable authority.

"Yeah?"

Ji You seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He turned around and laughed, "Come on, I'll give you a chance. I'll stand right here, do whatever you want!"

If you can hurt Wang Shuo even a little bit today, I'll admit defeat!

After Ji You finished speaking, Shen Qian fell silent.

Seeing Shen Qian speechless, Ji You sneered, "A mere fourth-level Mountain and Sea Realm expert dares to act tough in front of me. If we were to meet in the forbidden zone, I..."

Ji You was speaking when Shen Qian suddenly opened his eyes again.

Those eyes, deep as eternity and far-reaching as the starry sky, with a will as firm as Ji You's, were momentarily lost in thought.

At that moment, Shen Qian drew his sword.

No one expected that Shen Qian would actually make a move against a top-tier expert in the world of martial arts who had been famous for a long time and was not even in the same league as Wang Shuo.

Moreover, the attack was so fast that many people couldn't even react in time.

The light, which seemed to illuminate the heavens and earth and cleave everything apart, once again plunged everyone into a state of blindness.

After a brief moment of distraction, Ji You quickly sharpened his gaze, and the same disdainful sneer remained on his lips.

Clang!

This time, everyone heard the crisp, metallic clanging sound.

The light dissipated faster than expected, and everyone eagerly looked towards the center of the arena.

The countless blades of light were dissipating, and Ji You stood firmly in front of the critically injured and dying Wang Shuo.

Just when everyone thought the collision was over, Ji You suddenly reached out and grabbed at the invisible void once more.

boom!

Ji You controlled the collision of Yuan Power with extreme precision, keeping it within a very small range. The shattered blade light swept across the area, and countless tiny blade lights even cut into Ji You's body, but he remained unaffected.

Everyone was bewildered and at a loss.

The blade's edge had clearly dissipated, so what did Ji You crush next?

“Shen Qian, I have to admit you are indeed a genius.”

Ji You crushed all the blade light he had grabbed, and said with a faint smile, "A single slash is followed by a shadow of the blade, almost without leaving a trace, making it impossible to defend against. Such an unbelievable martial skill is something I have rarely seen in my life."

"But you made a mistake."

Ji You shook his head and sneered, "You shouldn't have used it on me. Did you really think the same trick would work on me?"

There wasn't much noise, and many people only vaguely understood what was being said, while only a few powerful individuals with sufficient understanding seemed to be deep in thought.

At least, they finally know how Wang Shuo lost.

A single slash is drawn, yet a shadow follows.

Such martial arts techniques are virtually impossible to defend against unless one's cultivation level is significantly higher.

No wonder Wang Shuo was defeated without any chance to fight back.

At the same time, Shen Qian, who had already sheathed his sword in mid-air, closed his eyes briefly and then chuckled, "Are you sure I'm the one who made the mistake?"

Ji You frowned slightly, about to say that Shen Qian was bluffing, when his expression suddenly changed.

"No!"

Sensing something, Ji You roared and turned to grab behind him, but it was too late.

Whoosh!

A blade of light seemed to suddenly appear from the void, sweeping past Wang Shuo's body amidst Ji You's furious gaze.

Wang Shuo, who was still breathing faintly, froze for a moment, then exploded in the horrified gazes of countless people, turning into nothingness under the devouring of the blade light.

bite!

A crystal-clear spiritual core radiating a pale golden light rolled out and landed right next to the Coffin of the God of Burial, which had been quietly placed on the arena.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone.

No one expected that, under the personal protection of a top-tier master of the arts, Chen Qian's single strike would actually extinguish Wang Shuo's life.

"You lost, and this is the price you pay."

He casually tossed out a sentence and turned to leave.

"...You bastard!"

After standing there for two seconds, Ji You was completely enraged. He could no longer suppress his terrifying aura and rose up on his own. He turned around and threw a punch.

A black light suddenly appeared, and the blood energy within it surged. Even from a thousand meters away, one could feel the immense terror emanating from it.

Just as it was about to be swallowed by the black light, a faint voice rang out from an unknown place.

"You people from Plum Garden really can't accept defeat."

Ding-dong!

Like a chess piece falling onto a chessboard, after a crisp sound, a white chess piece over ten meters in size suddenly appeared behind Shen Qian, firmly protecting him.

The black light collided with the white piece, but it was like a torrent encountering a rock, unable to budge it in the slightest.

He didn't even look back before sinking.

He disappeared at the edge of the arena amidst Ji You's extremely gloomy gaze, his steps incredibly graceful.

"Shi Dingyan!"

Ji You, who was extremely familiar with such methods, realized something and looked angrily at the air.

There, a figure slowly emerged, carrying a chess basket in one hand. He had his hair tied up in a bun, wore a retro robe, and had a faint smile on his face. His refined temperament was like a spring breeze. It was none other than Shi Dingyan, the third senior brother of Shen Qian.

---Aside---

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. I've seen it all. Thank you to the gentlemen who specially gave me a reward during the free period... I can only do my best to update this book for now, but I will definitely not let it end badly or be abandoned. That's guaranteed.

I hope that those with the means will enable auto-subscription even if they want to support a book's growth. I also hope that friends on foreign websites will come back and subscribe when they have the means. Of course, if you're really so poor that a few dozen dollars would affect your life, then forget it.

I bow deeply in gratitude to everyone!